Photo Credit: Charles Reagan Hackleman
I look to the left and I see a glorious rave mermaid, to my right I see a duck shuffling in place with smoke coming from underneath her bill, and in front of me Donald Trump is jumping up and down right beside Hillary Clinton. No, this is not a crazy drug induced dream, this was the scene at City Park in New Orleans for Voodoo Arts + Music Experience 2016. Halloween weekend spent in the voodoo capital of America equates to all the attendees being decked to the nines in their favorite costumes over the weekend. Voodoo Arts + Music Experience also featured an interactive cemetery photo op that was sponsored by a local haunted house in New Orleans called The Mortuary. You could feel the spirit of Halloween as the sun fell and everyone would get into character with even some of the artists participating in the tradition of wearing a costume. The stages included the sponsored Pepsi stage, the South Course stage that featured all of the alternative and soft rock bands, the stage where you could rage to your hearts content Le Plur, the Toyota Music Den where you could catch special acoustic and DJ sets, and finally the stage where we all worshiped the headliners of the weekend The Alter.
Photo Credit: Charles Reagan Hackleman
Friday started in normal festival fashion with everyone unable to control their excitement. The late summer heat still lingering around enough that no one had to carry a jacket.
The first days highlights included two sets by Chairlift including a special DJ set, G-Eazy who being a former resident of NOLA put on a performance to remember to prove his love of the city and celebrated the holiday by dressing as The Joker, and to finish out the night The Weekend put on a stunning performance complete with pyrotechnics that made even the biggest of critics drop their jaw.
Most of my time though was spent at The Le Plur stage with my must sees being on the line up for Friday night.
Voodoo would be my first time to see Lost Kings and I was thoroughly impressed. My knees begged for mercy from all the dancing I did during this duo’s set. These kings might be lost but they definitely know their identity by bringing a very unique quality to their Progressive House sound. The beautiful blue sky mixed with the upbeat set really set the mood for the day.
Slander was next on my agenda after waiting all summer and listening to their EDCLV set on Soundcloud multiple times I could not have been any more ready. I can relate to Slander as a group on so many levels and it was almost as if they tailored their Voodoo set just for me. GUD VIBRATIONS echoed through the speakers and started the mix of what I love about today’s music and what I loved about 90’s music. Not only did I hear I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing – Aerosmith, I belted out Never Let You Go – Third Eye Blind, and for all the new listeners in the crowd Slander dedicated their remix of Just A Friend – Biz Markie. Slander really knows how to connect with the younger and older crowd.
I have not seen Porter Robinson since the 2015 TomorrowWorld and despite the loss of power I fell madly in love with everything that my ears heard that night. Porter’s set at Voodoo only solidified my love. In true Porter fashion he started with Sad Machine, followed later by Fresh Static Snow, and he even threw in Easy the song he did with Mat Zo. To end the set Porter graciously thanked his attendees and with the final few beats of Goodbye To A World released confetti for a perfect climax to a wonderful set.
Voodoo Day one was closed by Carnage demanding his crowd jump until they had nothing left. The ground rumbled like an immanent earthquake. After the first song the DJ praised the front row for being the most insane crowd he had seen all summer, which only amplified the energy in the crowd. A remix of All We Know – The Chainsmokers followed with the whole crowd singing along in practice for The Chainsmokers set which would follow suit on Sunday. On Twitter early in the day Carnage had hinted at a surprise he had for VooDoo and little did we know it would be Lil Yachty. The two melted faces over the course of the hour and all in all it was the cherry on top of a great day.
Photo Credit: Charles Reagan Hackleman
On day two of Voodoo the sunny skies and perfect weather returned along with double the turn out of the first day. The crowds were thick, the smiles were huge, and the excitement of the sets to come were high. Saturday featured Matthew Shultz of Cage the Elephant doing a fantastic shirtless and wild impersonation of Iggy Pop, Oh Wonder spreading good vibes and participating in a proposal, and Tool completing the eery feel of Halloween with their visuals, and Maynard hiding in the shadows in usual fashion.
Meanwhile at the Le Plur stage the day was opened by Carmine P. Filthy and Cakes Da Killa. Midday as you walked through the grove near the staged you heard a weird chanting. B-T-S-M, B-T-S-M, B-T-S-M and to the untrained ear might sound very odd. I recognized the call and hastened my walk to a run. Black Tiger Sex Machine took the stage powering up their iconic tiger helmets, and dropping a brand new track Face Down ft. Panther. The group even dropped some parts of their Thriller Mix to help celebrate the holiday. I have to hand it to BTSM they have this way of timing their drops with such precision that the crowd gave huge sighs when they could not call them. I will admit I was definitely taken to their church.
For the Barbeque set, where the sun is perfectly in the eyes of the artist, Snakehips took the stage. Despite the sun the set was good. The visuals were a little difficult to see, but the music more than made up for it. The crowd had thinned a little after BTSM which made it easier to get into the pit which did not stop the fans of this up and coming duo from throwing down. The group played All My Friends which has become one of my favorite songs, a remix of LUV – Tory Lanez, and Falling.
DJ Mustard and Allison Wonderland were the next two acts on the Le Plur stage. As the sun went down the volume skyrocketed. The lights got brighter and the crowds energy pulsed like the heartbeat of a child. The people dressed as hot dogs belted DJ Mustard’s hits, and Alison Wonderland took everyone right down the rabbit hole by premiering a few new songs off her new album about her Happy Place.
Saturday was wrapped up nicely with a crazy, wild, erratic bow tied by the one and only Excision. “Let me see you throw your X Up.” rang through the speakers and the crowd faithfully obeyed. The visuals were an insane lightening storm of electrical surges that shocked the crowd back to life after a long day of dancing. Throwin’ Elbows and raging like your life depended was the only thought on anybody’s mind as the blood and beats coursed through our veins. Walking out of the festival the second day was like floating on a cloud the energy was high and the moral was even higher.
Photo Credit: Charles Reagan Hackleman
The third and final day of Voodoo Arts + Music Experience included Maynard (dressed as a tiger) in his second show of the weekend this time with one of his other bands Puscifer, a flawless performance from Band of Horses, and a festival closing show by Arcade Fire that left even people who are not fans of the band in Awe.
The lights at the Le Plur stage stayed hot and not even the people who chose to stay out on Bourbon Street the night before were sitting down. The day began with Unicorn Fukr and Herb Christopher doing a tag team set, 4B, Lookas, and Party Favor taking the tired vibez of the crowd and turning them around in a total 180.
Midday Snails took the stage and literally drug his tail all over the crowd, and slime poured and dripped from every human being in the audience. The Youth of the Nation made up the majority of the crowd, and when the anthem came on it was a call to action. The remix of Bodies by Drowning Pool proved Snails knew exactly the way to connect with crowd in unthinkable ways. When the “You Just Got Slimed,” announcement came over the speakers not only did you feel like you needed a shower, but once you were clean you would want to experience it all over again.
With a super hero introduction Gramatik took the stage and the vibez went from zero to funky in 60 seconds. The group played a decent amount off their newest album including Native Sun and War on Currents. You could tell by the number of l.e.d. lights floating into the air that Gramatik attracts the flow artists like no other DJ at the fest.
The grand finally of the Le Plur stage was The Chainsmokers and with their chart topping hits you can imagine the size of the crowd. Although my inner hipster made me despise the fact that 50-60 people stood between I and the front of the stage. I had to appreciate how the group has helped more people understand and accept EDM. The set went as you would expect with All We Know, Closer, and Don’t Let Me Down hit after hit blasted through the speakers. I could not help but smile while I watched the 16 year old in front of me bouncing up and down next to the 35 year old woman drinking a beer who soon matched his pattern. The only thing that connected them was the love of the music, and for that moment Voodoo was embodied in two people. The connection between the senior and the freshman, between an old tradition and new memories, between the love of music and everything else that separates us.
Photo Credit: Charles Reagan Hackleman
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